A terrorist organization has posted a video online showing several hostages being held at knife point including two Canadians.
The Abu Sayaff Group has released a video that shows a group of hostages and has demanded one billion pesos for each person, which is approximately $100 million CAD. The video shows four hostages including two Canadian men who were abducted from a resort in September.
Former mining executive John Ridsdel, aged 68, Robert Hall, aged 50, and Hall’s girlfriend Marites Flor can be seen in the video which was posted on the SITE Intelligence website. Flor was the manager of the Ocean View Samal Resort, the same place the group was kidnapped from on September 21st. The fourth person is Kjartan Sekkingstad, a Norwegian.
The group, a jihadish group in the Philippines, can be seen in the video raising long knifes to the necks of the hostages while delivering their message.
“I appeal to the Canadian Prime Minister and the people of Canada please pay this ransom as soon as possible, or our lives are in great danger,” said Ridsdel in the video.
The video has not yet been verified by the Canadian government and no comment or statements have been released regarding its authenticity. The video appears to be strikingly similar to one released by the same group on October 13th. In the first video, the captors tell the Canadian government to cease all operations and to fully cooperate with the group.
